Sage of Humanity

"You all must die!"

The Golden Corpse King's voice screeched like metal grinding, unbearably grating. One hand reached out for Muk Qingyun, who had been driven back with his aura shaken, his five razor-sharp, gleaming claws spreading a bone-chilling light. No one would doubt that these claws alone could rival the top-tier Magic Artifacts in the Nine Provinces cultivation world!

He didn't know what these humans had done, nor the mysteries of the Heaven's Augury Pillar, but he clearly felt the changes in the Earth Vein within the Huntian Holy Temple Secret Realm.

As one of the Four Great Temples, Huntian Holy Temple had been the largest breeding ground for corpses of the Corpse Race for millennia, nurturing countless powerful members. The vast corpse army under the Corpse Fiend's command owed much to the Huntian Holy Temple Secret Realm.

Yet now, this sacred site for the Corpse Race had its Spirit Veins depleted, and nature's spiritual energy was shockingly thin.

How could the Corpse Fiend tolerate this?

He had observed the strength of the Nine Provinces squad, knowing their formidable power. Hence, he concealed himself among the corpses, waiting for the right moment to strike. Though he hadn't gained much, he did break the Nine Provinces squad's formation, which was an achievement of sorts.

If he could kill one or two of them, he was confident he could take down the rest. The massive corpse army was not something to be trifled with. No matter how powerful these humans were, they couldn't stir up any waves!

Muk Qingyun had no way to retreat in the face of this attack. Summoning his flying sword, beams of sword light shattered the Void, sweeping towards the Corpse Fiend. His body trembled under the barrage, and more sword wounds appeared on him, but the Corpse Fiend's body was extraordinarily tough, those fine injuries unable to cause serious harm.

Sword cultivators were famous for their lethality, especially someone like Muk Qingyun. However, even his techniques couldn't inflict genuinely effective damage on the Corpse Fiend, showing the latter's immense resilience.

The scent of death enveloped him. At this critical moment, a towering figure shot out horizontally, standing between Muk Qingyun and the Corpse Fiend.

Yang Yuan!

His burly figure seemed like an indestructible barrier, bringing immense comfort in this dire moment. Blood Qi and spirit force surged around him as he held a big magic-artifact class shield in front of him.

He boldly blocked the Corpse Fiend's deadly strike!

Only then did Muk Qingyun take a deep breath. For a moment, he had thought he was already dead!

But just as he relaxed, a strange noise sounded, and both Muk Qingyun and Yang Yuan's expressions changed.

The big magic-artifact shield in Yang Yuan's hands emitted a harsh sound, and the Corpse Fiend's sharp claws, imbued with cold light, punctured five holes in it, piercing through the shield and entering their sight.

"Impossible!" Yang Yuan's pupils dilated, his eyes filled with disbelief.

There was no time for shock. The shield's glow quickly dimmed and lost its spirituality, while the Corpse Fiend's hand punctured it, his sharp claws stabbing deeply into Yang Yuan's chest.

As a physique cultivator, Yang Yuan's body, honed through countless trials, was strong enough to resist spells of the same level, yet his prideful physique felt as fragile as paper under this attack.

He felt a piercing pain in his chest, dread filling him as he feared the next moment would see the claws puncturing his heart, leading to instant death.

A figure, enveloped in flames, suddenly sprang forth beside him. The figure spun in mid-air, and a knife, shining like a star, gleamed brightly towards the Corpse Fiend's neck!

The threat of the blade was apparent before its full force was unleashed, causing the Corpse Fiend's golden eyes to narrow. He could sense the danger from this strike.

Although this knife might not claim his life, it would certainly bring him harm.

So, with almost no hesitation, the Corpse Fiend hastily retreated, vanishing amid the large corpse army, concealing his presence completely.

The figure, who had parried the attack, landed in front of Yang Yuan—it was Lu Ye. With a swift motion, he cleaved through a swarm of Corpse Race members.

Yang Yuan staggered slightly, his body cold. A moment later, he realized that had Lu Ye reacted a second slower, he would have already been dead.

From the moment Ying Wuji was in danger to the retreat of the Corpse Fiend, it had been no more than five breaths.

Yet within these five breaths, several individuals faced life and death crises.

Blood trickled down the corner of Lu Ye's mouth, evidence of the punch he'd received from the Corpse Fiend, a punch that was no minor blow.

Yang Yuan's aura became unstable. Though the Corpse Fiend hadn't taken his life, he was injured, with Primordial Corpse Poison injected into his body.

Fortunately, before setting off, everyone had received specially crafted elixir pills from Hua Ci.

Hua Ci herself could cure the Primordial Corpse Poison, but the elixir pills she made weren't as potent, only capable of suppressing the poison, giving the poisoned cultivators more time to seek treatment.

Feeling his condition, Yang Yuan quickly took out the elixir pill and swallowed it.

The squad reformed their lines, supporting each other, but it was less fluid than before. While the squad formation was breached, everyone had sustained injuries, and the prolonged intense combat was taking a toll on everyone's abilities.

"Lu Yiye!" As the only magic cultivator in the team, Lui Qing stood amidst the group, the safest position. Yet, he had killed more Corpse Race members than anyone else, even Lu Ye.

The massive and powerful spells he cast wreaked havoc in this setting, causing phenomenal damage.

"We might die here. Any thoughts on that?"

There was no blame towards Lu Ye, as everyone knew the risks before setting off, though no one expected it to get this dire.

Choosing to follow Lu Ye was their decision, and no one intended to hold him responsible for the consequences.

These Nine Provinces cultivators of their generation were all exceptional, and they understood the stakes and responsibilities.

Faced with death, Lui Qing couldn't help but speak.

"I dare not think of anything!"

Lu Ye swung his blade relentlessly, the fiery blade light flickering, and with each strike, scores of Corpse Race members fell. The pile of corpses before him grew, yet more continued to surge forward.

"What bad luck, dying alongside you!" Lui Qing sighed deeply.

"Hahaha, exhilarating!" Fong Rulie laughed maniacally. If not for Giant Armor restraining him, he might have charged forward recklessly.

"Lu Yiye, I've been putting up with you for a long time!" Ying Wuji twirled his twin curved knives, slaying Corpse Race members as he yelled, venting his frustrations. "You think you're all that, throwing orders around just because you're strong. If I could beat you, I'd have knocked you to the ground long ago!"

"Hahaha!" Lui Qing laughed. "Among cultivators, strength is respected. Ying Wuji, you're overthinking it!"

"You clearly haven't spent any time alone with him. If you had, you'd know how awful he is, always ordering others to do the dirty work while he enjoys the easy life. I, Ying Wuji, am no less than a dragon among men, yet he treats me like dirt, truly despicable!"

"You better watch out or he might cut you down right now," Lui Qing remarked.

Ying Wuji stiffened his neck. "So what? It's just a matter of dying sooner or later anyway!"

"Bold!" Lui Qing praised.

Ying Wuji then sighed, "Lu Yiye, despite your arrogance, you saved my life several times. I probably won't be able to repay you in this life. Maybe in the next one."

"As a horse or an ox?" Lui Qing joked.

"He wishes! Maybe I'll be the one saving him next time!" Ying Wuji seemed to have a few thoughts about his next life.

"If you've got the energy to chat, kill more of these corpses!" Lan Ziyi couldn't help but be irritated. Despite fighting bravely and resisting fiercely, the strange atmosphere was unnerving.

Just then, something unexpected happened.

Previously, when the Corpse Race members were killed, they just died.

But now, after they were struck down, tiny glowing lights like fireflies floated from their bodies, then dashed towards the backs of the squad members' hands.

The phenomenon was most apparent around Lui Qing, who used large-scale spells. Numerous tiny light points flew into the mark on the back of his hand, disappearing.

All eight members were taken aback.

"Is this..."

Then, everyone quickly focused, checking their battlefield markings.

The next moment, the eight showed expressions of joy.

The battlefield markings, dormant since arriving on the Unparalleled Continent, were now active.

The cause of their previous inactivity was clear—the Unparalleled Continent was beyond the Nine Provinces's influence, a separate domain entirely, making the markings useless.

But now, the markings were responsive, unequivocally indicating one thing.

The Nine Provinces Heaven's Augury had connected to the Unparalleled Continent!

This realization struck the squad simultaneously.

Lu Ye's earlier conjectures were right. The four sealed Heaven's Augury Pillars, once placed in the Four Great Secret Realms, would draw power from the Earth Vein and nature's spiritual energy. This would allow the Nine Provinces to accurately pinpoint the Unparalleled Continent and establish contact.

Thus, the battlefield markings reactivated, and their kills registered by the marking.

"Battle merit! It's battle merit!" Ying Wuji exclaimed, realizing the illumination wasn't valor points but the more valuable battle merit!

In mere moments, he had accumulated hundreds of battle merit points.

For cultivators of their tier, earning battle merit was no easy feat. The Cloud River Realm was relatively low, with limited opportunities to gain battle merit. So, discovering that slaying Corpse Race members granted battle merit was exhilarating for Ying Wuji, to say the least.

Regret soon followed. Before the marking reactivation, he had killed many Corpse Race members, all for naught in terms of battle merit.